HTC Rep: Verizon Decided ThunderBolt is Better Without Android 4.0

Over the past few months, HTC ThunderBolt owners have been wondering where their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich might be. Many of those owners have received vague responses from HTC in regards to its whereabouts though we have seen none stranger than the reply that one user got from an HTC representative in November which claims that the ThunderBolt Ice Cream Sandwich update won’t be rolling out.

Since the end of August, HTC ThunderBolt owners have been wondering whether or not their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update will ever arrive in an official capacity. HTC and Verizon have remained officially mum on the subject while responses from customer service representatives have been all over the place. At the end of November, we saw a HTC rep tell a customer that the HTC ThunderBolt update was still planned but that no time frame was available. Now, we are seeing the flip side.

In an email provided to Gotta Be Mobile by an HTC ThunderBolt owner, an HTC representative claims that the HTC ThunderBolt Ice Cream Sandwich update won’t be rolling out because Verizon claimed that the phone runs better without Ice Cream Sandwich on board.

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Here is the rep’s response in its entirety:

Dear XXXXXXXXX

Thank you for contacting HTC. I understand you are wanting the update for the Thunderbolt and will be more than happy to provide you with the appropriate information on why your device has not been updated. The reason the Thunderbolt never received ICS is because when we tested the software on one of our Thunderbolts, the phone was bogged down and started running a lot slower. Verizon decided that the phone functioned better without the ICS update.

I apologize for any inconvenience this causes you XXXXXXXXX. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to send us another email or give us a call between the hours of 6 AM and 1 AM EST at 1-866-449-8358. Thank you for being a valued member of the HTC community and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Considering the previous responses that HTC has given out to ThunderBolt owners, this is a little bit of a head-scratcher. Again, we previously had heard that an update was still planned so to see HTC saying otherwise is a little disheartening.

There is definitely a possibility that this HTC rep is misinformed as many of them are when it comes to Android updates. So owners should not accept this as truth just yet. However, the fact that HTC is giving responses across the board is unhelpful and frustrating, especially after more than four months of waiting without any official word on the update’s status.

We’ve reached out to HTC about this comment but thus far, we haven’t heard back.

Google and the OEMs need to put their foot down with these updates. Verizon going to go down hill if they keep it up. I really don’t blame HTC. That’s why I buy Nexus devices from Google. I love HTC and sense but these cell services are messing with the experience.

I’ve been telling you folks to move on for a while on these “Adam Mills” articles. I just gave up the other day myself. Bought an iphone 5 (non-discounted). I had to pay full price to keep my unlimited data, but I’d rather have Apple push out my OTA updates than a carrier, esp. with Verizon’s reputation for being the slowest to do so (e.g. Samsung S3 still running ICS!). I now love my phone. I had to pay a lot for it, but it WORKS…something my TBolt never did properly for me. And I get 4g where I used to lose ANY signal because of the stupid radios in the TBolt. Wait for my video on YouTube driving over and crushing my TBolt. Good riddance HTC…and Verizon soon as I can take my iphone to Spring (unlimited 4g) or even AT&T (3g only), should I desire in a few months.